The Man with the Yellow Hat
Theodore Shakleford "Ted" Williams is the second important character in the original adventures, other than George himself, is the Man with the Yellow Hat, he is the human who first befriended George and also acts as his primary teacher and mentor, and the deuteragonist in all the movies and episodes. The Man acts as George's parent and is an important fatherly figure to him. He is known to be tall, intelligent kind, and friendly. He is characterized by wearing a large yellow hat. He does not wear his hat at home, only when going outside. It was he who brought George from Africa, and it is in his house that George lives. The Man often facilitates George's adventures by taking him somewhere, and even more often resolves the tension by appearing just in time to get George out of a tight spot. He is always seen wearing a bright yellow suit and a wide-brimmed yellow hat. The Man is never mentioned by name in the original adventures, or in any subsequent content over more than six decades. He is always called either "the Man" or fully "the Man with the Yellow Hat". When people speak to George about the Man, they often refer to him as "your friend." However, in the Curious George film (2006), the Man is referred to as "Ted" throughout the film, and as "Ted Shackleford" in a deleted scene. Fifty years earlier, in an open-the-flap book titled "See the Circus," published January 1, 1956, H. A. Rey illustrated a man who looks very much like the Man with the Yellow Hat wearing a blue and white polka-dotted kerchief. The caption for the page reads, "Ted has a tricycle, so very small, He cannot ride it, because he's so tall. If you want to find out WHO the rider will be, Just open the flap, and then you will see." Opening the flap reveals two monkeys riding a tricycle. And now, to make it a little more mysterious, in the TV show "Curious George, a Christmas Monkey" (2009), George and the Man with the Yellow Hat are seen sending out Christmas cards. The Man with the Yellow Hat signs the card with a "W" then George puts his hand print on the card and seals it. What could the "W" be for? He owns a country house that has been in his family since his childhood, and also lives in a spacious, high income apartment building in the city. The man primarily drives a yellow Volkswagen convertible car as his main transportation to the country, however, he typically walks when staying in the apartment. He also uses an open-top Hummer for off-road travels. It is unclear what he does for a living. The man makes a couple of references to "going to work", however, we never discover what this pertains to. In Curious George and the Invisible Sound he has been asked to survey animals around the country house, and in The Fully Automatic Monkey Fun Hat, Dr. Wiseman has asked him to give a speech about the scientific method. He is the leader of a troop of the Sprouts, which George and Bill belong to. The Man's various hobbies include playing the tuba, bowling, sketching and painting pictures, marathon running/long distance running, studying nature, hiking, jogging, camping, bike riding, sand castle building, going to the beach, gardening, reading, marathon running, board games, frog impressions, golf, bird watching, and "worm racing". He paints in the style of the H.A. Rey drawings. He won an award for being the first to climb and map what became known as Yellow Hat Mountain and placed seventeenth in a marathon. He is very close friends with Professor Wiseman. It is even possible that he has a crush on her. The Man with the Yellow Hat is of Scottish ancestry. His Uncle Tam, lives in a castle in Scotland. Their family crest is a Dragon with the Yellow Tam. No mention of his parents is made, other than an occasional reference to his mother in a couple episodes. He is voiced by Jeff Bennett. Trivia *The Man was the antagonist in the episode where he uses wood to cover jumpy's entrance to get inside his house in a cold snowy day, however his plans were foiled when George makes jumpy a house and hides it and George made more entrances to their home. *In the TV series, he has a close, platonic relationship with Professor Wiseman. *He's of Scottish descent/ancestry. *He's the deuteragonist. *He was the first "regular guy" to walk in space. Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Heroes Category:Humans Category:Curious George Category:Curious George (TV series) characters Category:Adults